PREVIEW: BRISTOL CITY (H)

The Iron have a tough test on Saturday as they face a visit from second in the league Bristol City, hoping to bounce back from Tuesday’s cup defeat.

Scunthorpe fell to a 2-0 extra-time defeat to Chesterfield in their FA Cup third round replay, but could extend their unbeaten league run to eight matches at the weekend.

Bristol City come into the game lying second in the League One table, level on points with first place Swindon and with a game in hand.

The Robins have only lost three times this season and have won four out of their last five, behind only the Iron in the form table.

They have been boosted by recent loan signing Matt Smith who has scored nine goals in ten games since his switch from Fulham.

Mark Robins will be able to recall his new signings for the game on Saturday, with his January arrivals not registered to feature in the cup.

Defender Jordan Clarke will be pushing to make his debut for the Iron following his arrival from League One rivals Coventry.

Bristol City won the reverse fixture between the two sides this season, with goals from Aden Flint and Greg Cunningham securing a 2-0 victory for the Robins.

The visitors have in fact won all of the last three encounters 2-0, but the Iron will be confident of setting the record straight.

Scunthorpe’s last victory against the Robins was in April 2010, when they beat City 3-0 at Glanford Park thanks to a Gary Hooper hat-trick.

Hooper’s goals helped the Iron to 20th place and safety in that season, with the other fixture that year ending in a 1-1 draw.

Out of a total of 23 matches played between the two sides, Bristol City have a slightly better record than the Iron, winning ten compared to Scunthorpe’s six, with seven draws between the two sides.

Ahead of the game, see our article on the matchday officials, as well as the betting preview, picking the best odds from the league’s official sponsor, Sky Bet.

If you cannot make it to Glanford Park to see if the Iron can continue their rise up Sky Bet League One, keep track of the action by tuning into the club’s official social media channels or the official website, with live updates available from kick-off.